Champions League: Steven Gerrard tips Man City to be kings of Europe

Steven Gerrard believes Manchester City will win the Champions League this season following their “statement performance” against Napoli.

City beat the Serie A side 2-1 on Tuesday, with goals from Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus - prompting boss Pep Guardiola to describe his side’s performance as “incredible”.

Former England and Liverpool star Gerrard said that the result against Napoli proved City can win Europe’s elite competition.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

According to Metro, Gerrard told BT Sport: “The statement performance was City against a good Napoli side. City look real big favourites in this competition for me.”

Messi nets 100th European goal

Barcelona eased to a 3-1 victory over Olympiakos last night, when Lionel Messi scored his 100th goal in European football.

An own goal by Dimitris Nikolaou gave Barcelona the lead, before Messi scored from a free-kick and later assisted Lucas Digne for the third goal. Olympiakos netted a consolation when Nikolaou scored at the right end with a minute to go.

Another major talking point was when Messi appeared to eat something that was hidden in his sock. The Sun reports that it was a glucose tablet to give him an energy boost.

Neymar praise for PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe

Paris Saint-Germain continued their 100% record in the Champions League after thrashing Anderlecht 4-0 in Belgium.

The French giants’ attacking stars - Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria - were all on the scoresheet.

After the match, reports the Daily Express, Neymar had nothing but praise for teenage striker Mbappe. “I hope for Mbappe to be what [Lionel] Messi was for me at Barcelona... he is my friend,” Neymar said.

Six-goal thriller at the Bridge

Chelsea came back to secure a 3-3 draw against Roma at Stamford Bridge, with Eden Hazard’s equaliser ensuring the Blues remain unbeaten in Group C.

David Luiz and Hazard gave Chelsea a 2-0 lead before Aleksandar Kolarov pulled a goal back for Roma before half-time.

The Italians equalised and took the lead when Edin Dzeko netted twice, but Hazard levelled with 15 minutes remaining.

Chelsea boss Antonio Conte told the BBC: “It was fair. It was a difficult game against a good team. Above all in the first half we suffered, our performance was good, but for sure our football is different than today.”

Ronaldo proves he is on song

A clip has emerged of Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo singing the Champions League theme tune prior to kick-off before the match against Tottenham on Tuesday.

There’s no doubt that he loves the big nights in the Champions League.

Last night’s Champions League results

Group A

• Benfica 0 Manchester United 1
• CSKA Moscow 0 FC Basel 2

Group B

• Bayern Munich 3 Celtic 0
• RSC Anderlecht 0 Paris Saint Germain 4

Group C

• FK Qarabag 0 Atletico Madrid 0
• Chelsea 3 Roma 3

Group D

• Barcelona 3 Olympiakos 1
• Juventus 2 Sporting Lisbon 1